Whilst real-estate downturns in the USA and the UK began eight months ago due to the credit crunch, Australia appears to have weathered the storm, and along with Manhattan, is where it seems real estate is booming.

But it is an old saying that experienced investors start buying early while everyone else is “watching the market.”

 This appears to be the case as the well heeled in Sydney have already started buying, pushing up prices in  prestige suburbs and locations, which according to Data released by The Daily Telegraph, (in association with Residex), showed many prestige areas have recorded over 20% price growth in the last 12 months to March 2008.

Oh, Melbourne and Brisbane are doing well, too.

In  the 12 months to March 2008, the median price for a Melbourne home rocketed by 20.03%, with Brisbane and Adelaide shooting up by 21.5%  and 19.38% respectively, according to figures released by Residex.

The high end

Whilst Sydney median house price growth overall has barely moved over the year, high end properties however, are reported to be already on a roll.

A study of 12 recent prestige homes sales in Sydney showed 5 of the buyers spending A$11 million or more have no mortgage at all.
Sydney prestige areas such as Whale Beach and Rose Bay have shot up 25.17% and 23.88% respectively.

Even Bondi Beach is up 22.2%, and inner city areas such as Surry Hills and Chippendale are up over 22% for the last 12 months.

With recent reports in the United States showing that Sting, lead singer of The Police, paid $26.5 million for a condo in the new 43-story building at 15 Central Park West, and  Sanford Weill, the former chairman of Citigroup, paying more than $42 million for an apartment in the same building, Sydney luxury apartment prices seem cheap by comparison.

The loftiest asking prices in Manhattan for apartments now range from US$36.5 million and US$75 million, according to a survey by Businessweek.com, and are defying the downward trends elsewhere in the country.

Sydney by comparison has sensational apartments on or near the Harbour in the A$1 to A$4 million price range.

Sydney high end real estate should continue to climb to new heights because of the wealth of its local buyers, the strong job market and economy, the shortage of new supply of homes and the demand for prime property from all around the world.

Residex head statistician John Edwards is optimistic, “For the next couple of years there will be growth, particularly in the apartment sector,'' Mr. Edwards said.

"If you can afford to buy you must do it now because it's not going to get any cheaper” he said.

Barry Goldman, principal of real estate agency Portfolio Realty, agreed (Press Release, 21 April) describing Sydney as a buyer’s market.

“The current property market is one of the best buyer’s markets in the last 40 years, with great opportunities emerging” said Mr. Goldman.

“The areas close to the Sydney CBD are like a pressure cooker with a shortage of stock and strong demand, especially from professional people who are property savvy. I believe there will be an upward pressure on values very soon as interest rates fall, so the time is ripe to buy either apartments or houses."

The strength of the Sydney market has seen the Citylife Property Group bring forward the release of its latest project on Sydney Harbour.( www.citylifeproperty.com/pp_08.asp )

With park and harbour view apartments expected to sell from $750,000 for 2 bedroom, and from $1.2 million for three bedrooms, Citylife Managing Director Michael Bentley said he expected sales to very strong.

 “I expect buyers to rush these apartments, due the long completion date, the critical shortage of supply, and the strong demand for larger up market apartments in Sydney, particularly around Sydney Harbour” he said.
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23 May 2008.
Authorised by the Citylife Property Group, for immediate release.

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CONTACT: Michael Bentley

www.citylifeproperty.com


The Citylife Property Group is a leading marketer of prime Australian Real estate, which it markets to International investors through its offices and associates in Hong Kong, Singapore, London, and Malaysia...

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